The Rettendon Bell in Chelmsford

Had a great Bell burger and beer was lovely. Due to change hands soon. Will see what happens, but for good pub grub and cool real ales you can't go wrong.

Out with a long time friend for lunch and catch-up, i have been here many time over the last 40+ years. My friend chose quiche chips and salad, i had haddock chips and peas. while we were waiting we ordered our drinks, All the staff polite and helpful, the food came out piping hot and well presented, my Haddock was cooked in batter which was crispy and light. my friends quiche looked and tasted excellent. To finish of i had ice cream and sauce. All very enjoyable

Fish was too dry to eat. Staff apologised and only charged us for one meal instead of two. Will not be going back.

What a great pub! Lovely atmosphere, great food and brilliant team. Would recommend to anyone. So glad we popped in.

Lovely people with a welcoming atmosphere.Food is excellent and good portions. Lots of chicken in the curry.

Fast friendly service. Food excellent. Generous portions. Great choice even has allergy options. Chips are to die for.

Our third visit over the last couple of months. A great traditional / old fashioned pub. The staff are fantastic, always very welcoming. The classic pub grub is excellent and very well priced. The Bell Burger is home made as are the excellent pies. The fish and chips is terrific. Good choice of beers for both lager and real ale drinkers. Love it, will be back soon.

When wanting to order slightly off the menu staff helpful and managed to make this happen for us, the atmosphere is Friendly and warm. The food was homely, fresh and well priced

Friendly pub great staff good pub grub Old style pub, plenty of parking, good atmosphere Outside seating weather permitting

Nice place to sit and eat, food was OK, not the best out there, but it matched the prices. Service excellent. Would of got 5 stars if my nann bread wasn't burnt to a cinder and curry had more flavour..It was very bland for a tikka dish and not much was served.. Other dishes all fine and plenty of helping..

Eight of us went for Christmas dinner on Christmas Day and had a great time and delicious food. It was served hot and plentiful with a good choice on the menu. Our waitresses were friendly and efficient and the price was really reasonable. Decor could have been brighter, more fairy lights maybe and the booking process was a little muddled but I still wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it as a Christmas dinner venue. Thank you for making our day enjoyable.

My wife has booked a birthday treat for me in the restaurant for a party of five, this did not happen, we were told the restaurant is no longer used only as a storeroom. We were crammed into a table in front of the toilets. The food when it came, an hour later,was served in stone cold plates with cold gravy. With no explanation why it had taken so long. I certainly will not recommend any of my friends to come to these premises for a meal in the future.

I went for lunch yesterday with my mum who has a severe mushroom allergy and we made the waitress aware of this before placing our order she checked the fisherman’s pie had no mushrooms but served it with ratatouille which contained Mushrooms fortunately I noticed fairly quickly and we alerted the staff who offered to remove the mushrooms from the plate we had to tell them to change the plate and vegetables which they did but didn’t apologise before we left my mum was starting to feel unwell but they were disinterested although it was their fault, fortunately we found the mushroom before mum was too poorly but needless to say we won’t be returning

I understand this establishment has changed hands a couple of times and some of the reviews may not reflect the latest owner who I found to be absolutely outstanding. I arranged a lunchtime gathering for 15 people and requested something different from the norm. The owner Kevin was supper accommodating and flexible. On arrival we were warmly greeted and expected. A real personal touch that is not to be found too often these days. The food was first class plus and the waitress was very friendly and efficient. Will definitely be going back again and again!.

Probably the worst meal I have ever paid for. Undercooked, cold, cheap ingredients and not cooked as requested. On the positive side, it is moderately priced but really awful food badly cooked

myself and 11 others arranged to have drinks and light bites for lunch . despite arriving late our tables were ready, the staff were ready friendly and provided an excellent service. the food was ready and enjoyed by all. So in approx 40 mins 12...

The Bell has been our local for over 40 years. Always a busy, thriving successful pub with excellent pub food. Since changing hands the slide downhill has been rapid and I would think irreversible. I actually felt sorry for the very sweet waitresses having to...

Long wait for food. Food was awful. Overcooked. Seemed like it was pre cooked then reheated. Ploughmans had very cheap products.

We stopped by for a meal on Friday 20th Aug & I have to say in all the years we have been eating at the Bell it was a bad experience & not one I would like to repeat. I ordered the skate which when...

Have not been to this pub for food in a long time as found it was vary care home orientated and over priced.As new management is now in place I took my mum for lunch today and I cannot believe the difference.My mum had the...

A smoked haddock dish I ordered may as well have had smoked haddock flavouring instead of the actual fish as I could see no fish whatsoever in the dish. I explained there appeared to be no fish only flavour so the waitress agreed to change...

Had a family meal here before attending a wedding the next day. The staff were excellent and the food was amazing.

Overpriced, mediocre food, car park looks like a travellers site rubbish, fridges laying around 3 shipping containers and what looks like a portable toilet it looks terrible. Used to be such a lovely country pub

Party of 4, unfortunately only 1 was completely satisfied. A caeser salad consisted of a bowl of lettuce (dark leaves) chicken, 2 bacon strips and sauce! No croutons, no parmigiana or anchovies so not a complete caeser salad. A giant cheeseburger was absolutely NOT giant...

Made an impromptu visit on the way home from Chelmsford this afternoon. Service from two waitresses was perfect - friendly, polite and prompt. Food (two paninis and chips) was very tasty. Plenty of off road parking. Blankets provided if needed. Well worth a visit!

Don’t bother, complete waste of time. Arrived here after being told on the phone they were serving food / drinks, get there and they’re no longer serving food.. fine we will just have some drinks. Sit down for about 20 minutes trying to get their...

Ordered and collected the Roast on the Road for our Sunday dinner and it was delicious! Always quality food and service! Thanks again!

We went recently for an evening meal and three of us were very happy with the food and service. It felt very safe inside and was a good experience.

good service with a smile - well kept guiness - great location for sitting outside and watching cars roar past

I visited yesterday for the first time with a friend and have to say this is a lovely pub. The staff were very friendly and helpful. They had all the correct procedures in place for Covid and felt very safe and comfortable in there. Plus...

Have had lunch in this pub quite often over the years but we booked for an inside table for today only to be shown a table that was 1 metre away from the next one. When we complained t was, presumably the manager ,who came...

Been in here a few times and find staff friendly and reasonable prices, but just came a third time and ordered a pint of Doombar. Was looking at my phone, and then when I looked up I noticed the barwoman pouring beer from the drip...

A very welcoming pub, good choice of pub grub at usual prices, busy for a school night . Ladies beware of the step into the toilets. Quite a cosy pub and local all very chatty, lovely staff.

Had a lovely meal. The Brie and mushroom wellington was fantastic . Very good food. Well worth dropping in if your passing . Its a lovely pub with some good chefs . Well done to all the staff

Such a lovely pub, great atmosphere and charming staff but totally let down by the food. Extensive menu and we chose the ‘fresh daily’ fish. The batter on my piece of fish was so rubbery it was totally inedible and the inside actually fish was...

A busy Saturday so difficult to park. Friendly, welcoming service. A broad, extensive menu. All dishes delivered promptly and enjoyed by us all. A very pleasant experience that we will repeat.

Had a late Saturday lunch here after going to Hyde Hall. Service and food was very good. Ate late, about 3.30pm and there were several other people in there eating, as well.

Service was very good, food was nice lots of choice, we finished our meal and went through to the bar for after dinner drinks, all very pleasant

Whenever we decide to visit The Bell we are always confident that we will get good food, good service, comfortable surroundings, pleasant staff and atmosphere. Food is available throughout the day and evening, freshly cooked, generous portions and delicious. Never tire of visiting The Bell,...

I am a fencing contractor and often carry out work at Hanningfield reservoir which is only a few miles from the rettendon bell pub . On several occasions when finishing work , myself and a work colleague have visited the bell for a quick pint...

This is like going round to your Nan’s for dinner. I mean that in the nicest possible way - my Nan was a great cook! Fresh ingredients, no fancy ‘jus’ or fruit in salads! Good wholesome food, cooked to perfection, really large portions and friendly...

This is an old style pub not a chain which makes a welcoming change. The food was well cooked and tasted fresh unlike the hawk just down the road where everything is cooked in the microwave. There was a nice cosy atmosphere with friendly staff....

If you wish to have a meal at this hostelry, then you must either book or get there early, as it is a very popular venue, they can provide you with some good wines & spirits as well as beer & cider. They can also...

We have been meaning to try this place for a long time as it is always advertising in The Standard paper. Went for Sunday lunch but we were very disappointed and will not be going again. The starters we had were okay but the roast...

Thought we’d try this pub for a family dinner, we walked in, ordered a drink and then left. Horrible atmosphere when we walked in, felt really unwelcome, signs up about children having to behave (mine are but this sign made me feel uncomfortable), and the...

We decided to visit the Bell for dinner with my parents and our small children after a trip to Hyde Hall. We hadn’t been to the Bell before but as it was nearby we thought we’d try it out. Well we didn’t stay long enough...

Visited the Bell on our way home and were totally delighted! Never have I seen such a varied vegetarian menu, at least 8 choices plus bar snacks of sandwiches and jacket potatoes. Previous reviews speak of it being dirty?!? Think you’ve left a review about...

Me and my wife thought of a quick pub lunch .. Went in to a dirty unlit hovel..dirty table ..sticky floors.. Grumpy old sod behind the bar served me and did not once break a convo or even a smile..we ordered quiche and chips and...

Good to return to this friendly pub, the food is good, big portions, delicious and reasonably priced. Lovely to see our friends again.

This may seem a little unfair, we took the kids here a few weeks ago for mother’s day, got ourselves out of the car and into the pub and the first impressions were not great, it looked really tired (paint peeling, worn old placemats and...

We went here on Sunday for the roast. The turkey was good. People who had the chicken breast were disappointed that no stuffing or Yorkshire Pud was included, although they did bring us Yorkshires on request. The vegetables were firm and tasty and the serving...

The Rettendon Bell is a traditional old school pub, with a restaurant attached called Chimes. We arrived about 3.30pm on a Sunday afternoon and it was very busy. We hadn't booked but managed to get a table in the pub. We had to wait a...

We visited this establishment just for drinks but when we saw the food being served we were definitely tempted. A large menu to choose from. The service was excellent, we did not have to wait long for our food and drinks were served to us...

We popped into the Bell just for s drink at lunchtime .. sitting in a warm cosy little pub which was full of diners ..,the food looked really good and All the people around us we tucking in to their food with some satisfaction .....

Called in Sunday night for dinner. Good menu choice on the specials board and clearly the food was freshly prepared. My wife chose the pie and only managed half whilst my lamb shank was cooked perfectly and was more meat than bone! Excellent food good...

We often visit The Bell in Rettendon. Its local and such a friendly cosy pub, always busy whatever time you visit. Good selection of beers. It is our absolute favourite for fish and chips supper. Cod is huge and super hot, served with crispy chips....

We have visited this pub in numerous occasions and I have never eaten anything that I would not ask for again, the landlord is friendly and welcoming. Tonight I had baked salmon which was juicy and tasted Devine, I had it with salad and jacket...

The white bait was well over cooked, The Hunters Chicken & rice was look warm, the pitter bread had to go back, it was just out of the packaging, not even warm, it was replaced, but was like eating rubber. Will NOT be going back,

Went here for my sister birthday and the food was dreadful. My sister had a fish cakes and had a massive bone stick into the side of her gum. Myself and my dad had problely the worst mix grill ever. Over cooked in some areas...

We have visited "The Bell" on several occasions because of the cosy atmosphere, friendly atmosphere & very good quality & excellent value meals. We particularly like the daily specials (shown on a chalk blackboard) served at lunchtime on weekdays. The pub has always been busy...

Called in with friends for a drink and ended having a meal. Excellent service and great food and decently priced. great value. would certainly go again.

Good range of food always well cooked and tasty. Also a good range of drinks , particularly Beers. Not particularly cheap but worth it. Nice atmosphere and friendly efficient bar staff.

If you would like to try this restaurant, then I strongly recommend that you either book or get there early to avoid disappointment. The staff there are very friendly, they have a good menu, all their food is freshly prepared & very well cooked &...

I visited the pub (not the restaurant) and had a very pleasant lunch. The menu was extensive from simple sandwiches to the specials board and the portions were excellent and the food tasted very good. The staff were friendly and a particle thank you to...

We stopped here for a bit of lunch after a hospital visit to Springfield. The staff were very friendly, and the food was nice and hot. We did not wait long at all for our meal My Mum had roast of the day for £5.95...

We found this gem after moving to Maldon last year, we only wish it could be our local but we are happy to drive the 20 minutes or so. We have been for midweek and weekend lunches and evening meals in the bar area, and...

We stopped here for a quick bite at the weekend. The staff were very friendly, and the food was nice and hot. Menus in tables rather than just the bar menu would b handy as the only other menu bar side was on the chalkboard,...

My wife and I stopped for lunch on the way home after looking up the Bell and it’s Sunday lunch menu in the car. Their website quoted one course for £10.95 or two courses (starter+main or main and pudding) for £12.95. My wife and I...

Chose to eat in bar rather than restaurant and were more than happy with the wide choice of dishes on offer. Both dishes ordered were delivered promptly and had very generous portions. The chips were truly amazing really tasty and well cooked as was the...

If you like a traditional roast dinner with all the trimmings then this is the place for you, this is a very popular venue & you would be wise to get there early to avoid disapointment & all food can be purchased for a very...

We've eaten at The Bell a few times before and always come away full and satisfied. This time was no exception. The food was well cooked, delicious, plentiful and served speedily and by very friendly waitresses. By the time we three had finished our main...

Meal for four at lunchtime execellent two of the four had fish & chips, the fish was very good. Two meat pies fair amount of meat. Would definitely go again

Stopped here for lunch with friends. Whilst the filings were tasty the bread wasn’t the freshest and so spoilt the quality of the sandwich. It was a a Saturday lunchtime so maybe we had the weeks leftovers. Would try this place again as the service...

Stopped off as we wanted to avoid the main A120. Quiet a busy crossroad/junction. Pub has a decent size car park. Got their just before 3pm. My wife knows that I love liver and bacon and this was on the special. Mash, carrots, greens, broccoli...

Good service, good food, staff very helpful & go the extra mile. One person in my party asked for extra roast potatoes which was not & problem & asking for a extra gravy was brought to the table straight away. Lovely afternoon in a very...

Nice relaxing friendly pub, friendly bar staff. good selection of pub meals as well as a specials board and a guest beer. Their fish is first rate and the skate wings are superb. Food is served in generous portions of good quality and at reasonable...

Was well and truly stuffed. Very generous portions and a good selection of home cooked food. Also given the option to order off the bar menu for fussy teenagers,

We visited the Bell to see a Morris dancing display and decided to book a table and have dinner. Why we hadn't been here before beats me as we only live 30mins away but like so many others we see the Bell but don;t stop...

This is a very popular restaurant & it pays to get there early ! They have a good & varied menu which should suit all tastes. The staff there are very friendly, their food is all freshly cooked to your requirements & is very reasonably...

Yet again , FABULOUS food, Look at the size & thickness of my Cod!! & Carole s grilled wing of Skate?? SUPERB!!! Every time we eat there, we’re delighted with Not only the staff , but the quality of ALL!! Their food, And , as...

Such a shame as we have visited this pub many times and have thoroughly enjoyed every meal (and have written brilliant reviews) however, we visited tonight and unfortunately the prawn cocktails didn't have much sauce and the fish was under cooked and had to be...

I had a pint my Wife a white wine and smoked salmon sandwich while I had a panini All of which was very nice. We noticed other guests meals were enormous portions and we were thankfull we had agreed to eat light as we were...

Yet again, an absolutely first class lunch, More choices than you can shake a stick at, It’s a pub, But it’s much more than that,,,,, The staff are spot on , helpful, cheerful, & a real credit the the owner, As ex Publicans( retired) we...

Visited The Bell and Chimes, to give it the full name on a Saturday evening. There is ample parking.Bar was nicely busy without being overcrowded and the restaurant, which is a little dated,had several couples already dining. We were greeted by friendly and very helpful...

Just returned from a lovely dinner at 'The Bell' This great pub does wonderful home cooked food with a specials board supplementing the main menu. This includes Fish and their famous Home cooked Pies. Steak & Kidney with real kidney! Not the 'flavouring' you get...

We had a very enjoyable lunch, lovely food, efficient and fast service, couple of small suggestions to offer The seating was quite close together and the open fire would have been great but a table had been put in front of it so it couldn't...

This was a last minute decision with friends when we became hungry while out. I walked into the very full bar with a variety of customers tucking into their food. I was impressed that they were able to accommodate children, as we had our three...

This is a lovely, friendly pub, with tasty, well cooked food. The portions are big, so think carefully about having starters! The menu has a good selection. This pub is well worth a visit

Second visit for a Sunday Lunch. We find the staff are friendly and helpful. Although they are busy the service is good. There seems to be a good selection of drinks available. The price is very attractive with a fixed price for 1, 2 and...

We made a mid week visit for a late lunch. They were able to cater for us without the need for booking. we arrived just before 3pm and were greeted warmly by staff. The bar had a nice Christmassy, comfortable feel. The bar menu was...

After not being able to visit the bell for a while we booked the Christmas meal and were not disappointed. There was a choices of dishes for each stage of the 3 course meal and the portions were more than ample. The service was excellent...

About 12 of us had a lovely meal in restaurant. Plenty big portions, all hot and service was excellent. Everyone really friendly and could not fault the whole afternoon.

It was a little difficult to park at just after one on a Friday lunch-time, but this was the only negative. You are required to go to the bar to order and no table numbers, but they know who sits where. My wife ordered a...

Visited the Bell after a long absence as it was highly recommended by a friend. Have always liked the cosy atmosphere and the bar food is now excellent in value, quality, quantity & service. I only have one criticism and that is the chips. They...

Had lunch in the Rettendon Bell today, I had Quiche, chips & salad very nice ample serving, another family member had a Ploughmans, I don't think I have ever seen such a lot on one plate, loads of cheese, Branston & Picallili, four Pickled Onions,...

We came here on our way into Chelmsford for a pub lunch on a hot and sunny Saturday. There is plenty of choice on the menu with lots of different sandwiches, baguettes, panini, jacket potatoes and more filling meals like burgers. We did sit outside...

Ate in the pub not restaurant..... after being told rather rudely that we couldn't sit at a table because it was already taken by two people sitting at the bar we thought we'd still give the sunday roast a try as we were hungry .....should...

Good beer and food!!! The atmosphere was fantastic! And there are a few tables outside to enjoy a awesome meal in the sun!! I will come back!!

This restaurant can be found at the crossroads on the A130 between East Hanningfield & West Hanningfield. It forms part of the Bell pub. The staff there are very pleasant, they have a well laid out restaurant, they have a nice menu which caters for...

We have called in the Bell a few times now and have never been disappointed. Our 8 year old son loves a roast dinner and he found this one of the best he'd had. All our portions are generous, the service is really friendly and...